On the way

I've only just come home and had a shower since I left this morning at around 10.30 to go to the hospital. I saw my vascular surgeon at 11am, then headed out into the city centre to see my orthopaedic surgeon for 2.20pm. As usual, he was late (ended up arriving at 3pm) and left at around six. Most of the time was spent waiting, but I can almost definitely say it was worth the time he spent explaining things to me.

He's still not too happy with my diet and food intake and wants me to see my GP about this and get all the bloods done to get a better picture of my health from that perspective. I asked about my surgery from September 2010 and told him that it was the one I thought worked out best, until someone smacked it with a stick at school (Chemistry demonstration... don't ask). I asked if something like that would potentially work again, to which he answered that it's a possibility but there's a lack of tissue to be used, unless we approached using a pedicle flap from the adjacent finger. He did say, however, that he would need to carry this out with a plastic surgeon and so he'll ask a colleague and get back to me (he wrote this down so I'm hopeful he won't forget). 

He suggested that in the near future I perhaps have some coagulation procedure done to obliterate any troublesome vessels - perhaps an alternative if the plastic surgeon declines to operate. I'm not sure whether it'll be a yes, given the complex past. My hopes rest on the fact that my diet and food intake are slowly improving and therefore there's a chance it'll work. I explained that I feel like I've got nothing to lose since we've maintained status quo since February 2011 and that even if it doesn't work, I want to know that I've tried something that I believed would help.

I had my dressing done by Trish, my favourite nurse, and she was so great! It feels like she's known me for so long already but it's only been a couple of months. I'm going on Wednesday again to see her so hopefully she'll be there. Overall, quite a good appointment despite lots of waiting. I arrived at 2, was eventually seen at 3, had my dressing done at 3.30 after speaking with my surgeon, waited some more for my surgeon to see his other patients, and saw him again at around 4.45, and finally left at 6pm alongside my surgeon even!!! Lots of waiting around but lots of time spent talking, asking and finding out new things. I'm excited at the prospect of new ideas for a cure but am also incredibly nervous that I'm not going to get this chance - which I know is a huge realistic possibility. Sorry it's been a long one but there's been a lot to think about - hope the weekend is a great one for you!